Political parties

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the elections in Thuringia the central part of Germany, according to exit polls.

In Saxony, where elections also took place, the party is trailing behind the CDU.

Türkiye's top election watchdog has dismissed the Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) bid to annul the recent local elections in the Aegean province of Kütahya, prompting calls for electronic voting in the country.

New Democracy won a sweeping victory in Sunday's election, securing its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis a second term in office in an eight-party Parliament which will also feature a strong contingent of far-right parties. 

Center-left PASOK has every reason to celebrate Sunday's result as it has increased its share of the vote by 50 percent over two election cycles.

The sense of elation was not least felt by its leader Nikos Androulakis, who has strengthened his hand.

Greece's conservative New Democracy party stormed to victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday with voters giving reformist Kyriakos Mitsotakis another four-year term as prime minister.

With 91% of votes counted, center-right New Democracy was leading with 40.5% the vote and 158 seats in the 300-seat Parliament, Interior Ministry figures showed.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed his party's resounding victory on Sunday night and vowed that the conservatives would be setting "high goals" for their second term at the helm of the Greek government.

The separate exit poll conducted jointly by six polling agencies, after Sunday's general elections, presents a range expected to be reached by each party. The poll again shows Kyriakos Mitsotakis and New Democracy achieving a comfortable win over the main opposition.

• 9,813,595 million Greek citizens are eligible to vote in the elections; Greeks living abroad have already cast their votes.
• Running for office are 32 parties, four coalitions of parties and two individuals standing as independents.

Greek Communist Party secretary-general Dimitris Koutsoumpas voted in Lamia on Sunday and called on Greek voters to give his party a strong mandate.

"Until voting stations close tonight we must all be there to make the Greek Communist Party strong and take it higher, as this is the only way to have a strong, popular, combative opposition," he said.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for a stable government for the next four years from the polling station in Kifissia, where he voted.

"Citizens and democracy are the focus today, it is a day of joy and responsibility. We are voting for the second time in just a few weeks so the country can have a stable and efficient government with a four-year horizon," he said.